Card-index



J. H. RAN-D.

CARD INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1917.

Patented May 4, 1920. i

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Jfiarmyal J. H. RAND. CARD INDEX.

APPLICATION map JUNE 23. 19.11.

Patented May 4, 1920. 2 SHEETS-SHKET 2 Jrzvniw; v

James H. mm), or Noam TONAWANDA, NEW Yoax.

CARD-INDEX.

s ecification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

Application filed June 23, 1917. Serial No. 176,599.

To all whom it may concer'h: Be it known that I, J AMES H. RAND, a citi- I zen of the United States, residing at North Tonaw'anda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Card-Indexes,

of which the following is a specification.

Hitherto it has been the custom to employ guides or partitions for separating the record cards into the desired divisions and-subdivisions. Such guides are separate from the record cards, and whenever changes in the classificationsare necessary, new guides with the desired index-designations are required, or new designations must be printed or otherwise placed .on the guides. \Vhere a ganize and construct such card very'large number of guides as well as cards are necessary, as in the indexes used by libraries and insurance companies, the changing of the guides from time to time entails considerable labor and expense.

It is the object of my invention to so orindexes as to utilize some of the record cards or units themselves as the guides, thus doing away with separate guides and effecting an important economy in time and expense.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a card index embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinalsection thereof. Fig. 3 is a face View of one of the card-lifters or elevators and the contained card. Fig. 4. is a perspective view thereof. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. '6 is a similar section of a modified construction of the lifter. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a letter file containing the invention. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the folders provided with a lifter.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-5, 1 indicates the drawer or receptacle of a card index, and 2 the record cards which, in the example shown, are comparatively narrow but which may be of any other dimensions. The 'several cards are of uniform height, as usual; In addition to bearing the desired record,

some or all of the cards have on the upper.

portion of their faces an appropriate indexdesignation 3, such for instance, as-a class or. sub-class tltle or the name of a policy holder.

Each card is also provided with the usual opening 4 for receiving the customary lockrod of the index.

' Instead of employing the customary index guides, some of the cards or units of the file are themselves used as guides by supporting them'in an elevated position, so that their upper portions, which. bear names or other designations, project above the remaining cards sufficiently to clearly display the designations, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Elevating or supporting devices of any suitable construction may be used for this purpose. In'the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-5, the elevated or guide cards are mounted in holders 5. each consisting of a strip or sheet of celluloid substantially as wide as the card, but somewhat higher. This strip rests on the floor or bottom of the receptacle and is provided at the top of its rear side with a depending flange 6 which engages the upper end of the guide card, and on the same side above its lower end with an upwardly-extending tongue 7 which engages the lower end of the card, in such a manner as to hold the card against the rear side of the strip and lift it above the other cards,'as above described. The index-designations of the elevated cards are exposed through the traipsparent material of the holder.

unit themselves as index-guides, they com bine the functions of record cards and guides. The cost of printing the names or other index-designations upon the customary separate guides is thus saved, as well as the labor and expense of renewing the guides or printing new names upon them when changes are required from time to time. considerable item of expense, particularly in the case of public libraries and life or other insurance companies, whose indexes sometimes contain hundreds of thousands of record cards. I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction of the card-elevators or holders, as a variety of devices can be used in carrying out my invention. Another form or modification is shown in Fig. 6, where the holder consists of a transparent sheet 5 doubled at its middle, with the fold at the to its walls being separated except at their ower ends, where they are glued or otherwise fastened to an interposed horizontal space-strip or layer 8. This leaves an This is a utilizing some of the'record-cards or open-sided card-pocket extending from side to side of the holder and from its upper end to the space-strip. v

The invention is equally applicable to indexes in which folders, envelops or similarcustomary index-guides are raised above the rest by suitable lifters or elevators 11 which preferably consist of doubled strips of celluloid or other appropriate material glued placed upon the faces of or otherwise secured to the lower portions of the folders. These lifting strips rest upon the floor of the drawer or other receptacle and extend the proper distance below the folders to raise their indexed upper portions above the tops of the adjacent folders. The index-designations 3 of the folders may be their upper rear walls, as usual. J

In the appended claims the terms units and record-containers are comprehensive ones not limited to any particular recordbearing or holding members but intended to include all kinds of index devices, cards or units, whether ordinary record-cards or slips; or paint samples or cards bearing paints of different colors, or folders, pockets or envelops adapted to contain letters, imioices, documents or other papers or artic eS. a

and means for raising one or more of said units above the others, whereby the lifted units serve as index or class guides.

2. In an index or filing system, the combination of a series of assorted filing units of substantially uniform height, said units bearing suitable index designations, and means for raising one or more of said units above the others and sustaining them in their elevated position to display their index designations. v 3. A card index-or the like, comprising a receptacle, record members arrangedtherein and bearin suitable index designations, and means or elevating some of said members above others to display their indexdesignations.

4. A card index or the like, comprising a receptacle, record members arranged therein and bearing suitable index-designations,

on their upper portions, and holders constructed to support some of said members above others to display their index designations.

5. A card index or the like, comprising a receptacle, record members arranged there in and bearing index-designations on their upper portions, the several members being of substantially uniform height, and elevating means applied to some of said members for raising them above others to display their index-designations.

JAMES H. RAND. 

